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Apply to become a Miller Arts Scholar if you are a current first or second-year student in the College of Arts and Sciences!

Rising second or third-year students actively engaged in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia are eligible to apply to be a Miller Arts Scholar. Each year, the faculty advisory committee admits between 16 and 25 new scholars in each of the five disciplines: dance, drama, music, studio art, and creative writing. Artists who do not strictly belong to one discipline have also been welcomed into the program. Rising second-year applicants are strongly encouraged to major (or minor in the case of dance) in the arts. Rising third-year applicants should be planning to declare a major in the arts (or minor in dance) or present evidence of major equivalent engagement in the arts to be eligible. Students in programs such as Education or Architecture may apply, provided they are also completing an arts major or minor in the College of Arts and Sciences. Such students may become Arts Scholars and are eligible for grant support, but will not be eligible for priority enrollment in College of Arts and Sciences courses.

Applicants should display involvement in the arts and excellence in courses specific to their disciplines, with a recommended GPA of 3.400 or higher in all arts courses and a cumulative GPA of 3.200 or higher. In rare cases, exemptions to GPA requirements may be made to students who show exceptional talent and potential in the arts as certified in your faculty recommendation letter. Additionally, Arts Scholars are required to enroll in a minimum of four, credit-bearing art courses within their respective nominating department between their second and fourth year of study. In Studio Art and Drama, one of these courses should be at 3000 level or above. In Dance, two of these courses should be at the 3000 level or above selected from two distinct areas: Movement Practice, Creative Process, Critical or Somatic Studies. In Music, two of these courses should be at the 3000 level or above, including at least one MUSI course.

Requirements

ATTENTION:  Please provide all items listed below as one attached pdf (except Faculty Recommendation Letter) to Michael Rasbury at mr2xk@virginia.edu by February 7, 2025, no later than 5PM. Your attached pdf should be named like “lastnamefirstname_application.pdf.” Applicants will receive notification by early March.

• Complete Application Form (download)
  • Please complete all fields in the form.
  • The form includes a personal statement outlining interest in becoming an Arts Scholar and how this relates to larger goals. Include a description of how your participation will contribute to the Miller Arts Scholars Program.
• Portfolio (If you submit links, check to be sure that they are accessible to anyone, preferably testing on more than one device. Examples from High School discouraged.)
  • Create a page called “Portfolio Examples” and include it with your pdf package. 
    • Visual Artists:  Include up to seven, high resolution still images and/or weblinks to a total of five-minutes of video, film, or audio work with relevant descriptions (date, title, dimensions, medium, description including role in production if it is collaborative work). 
    • Musicians: Include weblinks to two contrasting examples totaling no more than five-minutes with descriptions of each (Vimeo, YouTube, SoundCloud, etc.)
    • Performing artists and Media submissions: Include weblinks to two contrasting examples totalling no more than five-minutes with descriptions for each (Vimeo, YouTube, SoundCloud, etc.)
    • Creative writers may submit up to two manuscript examples, no longer than five pages each. 
• Current Resume
• Unofficial UVA transcript​
• Faculty Recommendation Letter (At least one required for all applicants; you may request letters from two faculty members if they have knowledge of different aspects of your work)
  • ​​​Faculty recommenders should scan their letter and send in a separate email as a pdf to mr2xk@virginia.edu.